The Half Of It, Dearie, Blues (From "Lady, Be Good"): Lead Sheet

This lead sheet captures one of Gershwin's most sophisticated blues-influenced melodies in a format designed for real-world jazz performance. The Just Real Book series earned its reputation by respecting the composer's voice while serving working musicians, and this Gershwin edition delivers both historical authenticity and practical playability. Guitarists gain access to a song that demands genuine harmonic understanding and melodic phrasing without sacrificing the joy of playing timeless American music.

This song carries the languid, introspective mood of a late-night ballroom; the blues feel is sophisticated rather than raw, the melody tinged with wry humor and romantic resignation. The harmonic language suggests both the drawing room and the jazz club, creating an elegant but emotionally present soundscape that invites both restraint and expressive depth.

Jazz guitarists and musicians comfortable with swing and standards repertoire will find this lead sheet essential for their working library. Students serious about jazz harmony and melodic transcription benefit from studying how Gershwin constructs this particular blues, and instructors can use it to teach the difference between blues as a form and blues as a harmonic and melodic language. Any musician interested in the American songbook will value having access to Gershwin's work in a reliable, estate-approved edition.

• Approach the blues inflections in the melody as compositional choices, not decorative slides; Gershwin wrote these chromatic and blue-note passages with precision to create the song's specific character.
• Attend to the harmonic rhythm and allow chord changes to breathe; rushing through the changes flattens the sophisticated movement Gershwin crafted into this tune.
• Use dynamics and rubato to highlight the lyrical quality of the melody even within a jazz context; this piece rewards singers and improvisers who treat it as a song first.
• Explore how reharmonization options open up without losing the essential Gershwin sound; experiment with substitutions that honor the original harmonic logic.

Pair this with other standards from the same era to build a jazz program that respects compositional craftsmanship; guitarists often program Gershwin alongside Porter, Kern, and Rodgers to demonstrate the harmonic and melodic diversity of 1920s-30s songwriting. This single lead sheet works equally well as part of a study unit on Gershwin's theatrical output or as a standalone recital piece that connects jazz performance to concert music history.

• Reading and interpreting lead sheet notation with harmonic sophistication
• Understanding blues harmony in a jazz standard context
• Applying chromatic passing tones and blue notes as compositional elements rather than improvisation clichés
• Developing melodic phrasing that balances jazz swing with song-like legibility
• Recognizing Gershwin's harmonic vocabulary and voice-leading choices